Family adopts russian boy and then sends him back

[OceanAnnie]

New Twist in Adoption Drama:

http://www.yahoo.com/

This case just keeps getting stranger and stranger. She was inquiring about adopting a second child from Russia? It's getting hard to connect the dots with such limited information.

ETA- Sorry PearlySwan. We were posting at the same time.

 

[EMom]

True, but I wonder why he became a ward of the state. He could have been voluntarily placed by his mother. Many families who face hardship make the difficult decision to turn them over to Russia's version of child services. Many kids are brought in and out of the system, much like the US. She also could have lost custody because of neglect or substance abuse.

Apparently, his bio mom was an alcoholic and he was either removed from the home or she relinquished him. In either case, legally, he had to be a "social orphan" before he could be adopted. Meaning, the bio mom's rights were completely terminated. During a period of time before the termination, there has a be a cessation of contact/visitation from the bio parent(s). Perhaps she did hope to someday get him back. Sadly, a large percentage of the children in Russian orphanages are in this category. The parents "hope" to get on their feet and take the child home someday, but it's an unrealistic hope for most and the child winds up staying in the system forever, never freed for adoption. As you indicate below, she was almost certainly approached to sign off on paperwork to relinquish the child and free him for adoption. Otherwise, no one would bother if they thought he was unadoptable and he'd have just stayed in the orphanage, perpetually not paper ready.

I doubt she had lost permanent custody until the authorities approached her to sign off on custody to get the boy "paper ready". The orphanages just don't have the resources or manpower to track the parents down and go through the paperwork. This usually happens only when the child is considered for adoption.

Unfortunately I need to point out that this happens in most countries where abandonment is legal under certain laws. The main focus of getting a child paper ready for adoption is finding the parents and signing off custody. Of course they don't do this in China, since the child is anonymously abandoned.

It is quite possible this mother had intentions of returning the boy to the home at some point. We just don't know. Often parents who are having financial, family, medical issues are pursued to give up their rights by the child service authorities. Every parent wants a good life for their child and many biological parents look on the possibility of international adoption as a blessing.

That's why I highly doubt this boy had RAD. Of course there is a strong possibility that he suffered neglect or abuse.


I found this morning's update on GMA to be alarming. This woman lived behind a compound with her family. Never had the boy out to attend school or any other social function. She only gave glowing reports to the adoption agency. But the most shocking information was that she approached the agency to adopt again! Just a couple of months after adopting this boy! Of course the agency said no, concentrate on this child. (most agencies require that a parent wait a year before starting the process again)

She just went and found herself another agency that would let her adopt again. I hope this agency stops proceedings at once. Unfortunately there are many FOR PROFIT agencies out there. She wants to go to Georgia (from the former USSR) to adopt again.

Georgia's system is different than Russia. American agencies travel to Georgia and pick out and make paper ready children. The children live in foster homes that the American agency supports. It is imho, a VERY flawed, perhaps unethical system. Children are paraded in front of these agency employees and picked out of a line up. This isn't much different than the system in the Ukraine. Parents are approved to go to a specific orphanage. The parents then can ask to see a number of children who fit their request. Example...under 18 months, girl, blond. The child is picked and the parents return months later to adopt the child. :confused This is why we never considered these countries. it appears that this mother in the news is trying to "shop" for another child.

I will be disgusted if this woman does not go to jail, but at the very least she should never be allowed to adopt again.

Just about everything in this case sets off alarms. She gets the boy a little over six months ago and at the 3 month visit by a social worker, she paints a picture of how great things are going. That leaves 3 months for things to go south before she puts the boy on a plane, claiming he is beyond all hope and a danger to their lives. Okay.......But every single social service agency in the area seems to have come forward to say this woman NEVER once contacted them for help or advice. She never contacted the adoption agency or her social worker for help or advice. She never took the child to a psychologist. At best, she phoned a psychologist herself. Big woo.

It seems she never even made the effort to discover whether or not this child had RAD or whether he was simply a child having a hard time adjusting to a new country and a new "mom" after being (likely) taken away from his bio mom a year or so before.....which would have been completely normal. Heck, we only have the word of the family (the same folks who put a 7 y.o. on a plane to Russia alone to be met by a stranger) that there was anything terribly wrong with him at all. DH pointed out that if even if it was a US born child from this background (lived with alcoholic mom for several years, then in orphanage, then adopted into a family....let alone sent to a new country) that any responsible parent would have had the child in counseling from the get-go, for the sake of the child's adjustment. Seriously, what did they expect of this child? An angelic little mommy worshipping boy? Umm.....That's not going to happen. I still say she sounds like a saver.

When we adopted DD, she seemed to be the picture of health. We immediately took her to our pediatrician, who pronounced her perfectly healthy, developmentally on track and bright. Even with that ringing endorsement, I still took her to an international adoption clinic where she got many exams by multiple specialists. On top of that, I had her evaluated by Early Childhood Intervention. Everyone said the same thing. They backed up what my own eyes told me. I guess what I am saying is that even though I was 99.99% certain DD was healthy and in need of no services, I wanted to make double....no, triple dog certain there was NO doubt and that if she did indeed need help of any kind, we got it ASAP. Overkill? Maybe. But better safe than sorry. Now, my DD was much less at risk than this boy yet it doesn't seem as if he got anywhere NEAR the amount of medical care I got for DD, let alone the psychological care they claim he needed. It just doesn't pass the sniff test.

She worked overtime on ways to get rid of him, not to help him. If she had put half the effort into getting help that she put into getting airline tickets, finding a man to meet the child, etc., maybe that kid would have stood a chance. Sickening. What I see is a massive case of CYA going on, and likely with good reason.

 

[EMom]

New Twist in Adoption Drama:

http://www.yahoo.com/

This case just keeps getting stranger and stranger. She was inquiring about adopting a second child from Russia? It's getting hard to connect the dots with such limited information.

ETA- Sorry PearlySwan. We were posting at the same time.

I swear, every time I hear an official say something to the effect of, "I don't know if she can be charged with anything.....It's complicated," I want to SCREAM!!!! It's anything BUT complicated. Plain and simple, putting your 7 y.o. child on a plane with a note saying you don't want him any longer and washing your hands of him is CHILD ABANDONMENT, period. Adopted, birthed, it matters not. You simply cannot return a child like a defective Walmart purchase.....That's the law. You abandoned a child. That is child abandonment. Sheesh!

If she is not charged and prosecuted, hide and watch the fallout. Kids will be abandoned left and right, adopted or not. And the parents will use this woman as their shining example of justification.

And she was agency shopping, trying to adopt another child? Well, I take it back. I had thought she was a witch. Now I think she's a crazy witch.

 

[SereneOne]

We adopted an infant from Russia and the chances of getting an infant out of Texas foster care were almost zero, but even if I had wanted a 7 y.o., I would have never used the foster care system in my state. Having worked as an attorney representing children who had been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect, I had witnessed firsthand what "best interests of the child" actually means in Texas. Nothing. The obsession with preserving the bio family and giving bio parents chance after chance after chance as the child ages away in foster care sickened me. Most of the time, you could tell within 6 months which parents were going to make the effort to straighten up and try to be a decent parent. But they would give them years, while the poor kids stayed in limbo, eventually becoming too old (and sometimes too emotionally damaged) for anyone to want to adopt them. No, I'd seen the inside of the TX foster care system and wanted no part of it.

There are too many cases of 17 y.o. children who entered foster care at 12-18 months of age and are still in foster care because their parents' rights were with never terminated, or were termminated when they were age 10+. WHY???? Why not free that child for adoption while he/she is still a toddler and has a good chance at finding a home and having a good life? While I was shopping for DD shortly before we adopted her, I ran into a foster mom with a 9 month old Black baby girl. We were talking baby sizes and somehow it came up that we were adopting from Russia. She got all snippy and muttered the bit about "plenty of babies right here need homes." So I calmly asked her when THAT baby in her arms would be available for adoption. She stammered and said that the social workers were trying to work with her bio mom so that she could maybe be able to raise her someday, and so THAT child was not available for adoption. I then told her that the courts' focus on keeping kids with bio parents instead of doing what was best for the child was one of the big reasons we were headed to Russia. By the time the TX court figured out a parent would never get their act together, the "infant" would be in the double digits. She shut up then.

I can't do it right now, but every time I search the TX foster care website, pretty much all that comes up are older kids, many of them teens. And a big percentage have been in foster care for YEARS. The system seems set uo to fail these kids. Rarely will you find a young child and an infant......forget about it. On the rarest of occasions, a family does get to adopt an infant, but those are usually the foster to adopt families. I was not about to sign up for that, knowing child after child could be placed with me, only to be yanked away and returned to God knows what kind of a family. I'd had 4 terrible miscarriages. I had to have a near 100% of getting a baby because I could not take another loss. I knew that if I did everything required by law, I WOULD get a baby from Russia in less than a year. And I did. And no one will ever fight us for custody. There is great appeal to that.

Look, in some states you can get a young child fast from foster care. In TX, that is a fantasy. Just look at the website. It's pathetic.

You said it much better than I could. This is the exact thing that goes on in Florida, only I am talking about the abuse allowed by biological parents and them being given chance, after chance....give them parenting classes, they just do not know any better! No one needs a class to know not to burn a child with a cigarette or not to chain them and not feed them for God's sake!

 

[OceanAnnie]

I was a hold out for more information. It isn't looking too good for her. The more information that comes out the worse she looks. I didn't think that was possible. None of it adds up. Maybe over time most of the puzzle pieces will be revealed.

 

[SereneOne]

I swear, every time I hear an official say something to the effect of, "I don't know if she can be charged with anything.....It's complicated," I want to SCREAM!!!! It's anything BUT complicated. Plain and simple, putting your 7 y.o. child on a plane with a note saying you don't want him any longer and washing your hands of him is CHILD ABANDONMENT, period. Adopted, birthed, it matters not. You simply cannot return a child like a defective Walmart purchase.....That's the law. You abandoned a child. That is child abandonment. Sheesh!

If she is not charged and prosecuted, hide and watch the fallout. Kids will be abandoned left and right, adopted or not. And the parents will use this woman as their shining example of justification.

And she was agency shopping, trying to adopt another child? Well, I take it back. I had thought she was a witch. Now I think she's a crazy witch.

I do not understand why she can't be charged with child endangerment. It makes no sense to me.

 

[PearlySwan]

I do not understand why she can't be charged with child endangerment. It makes no sense to me.

^^^ The 'mother' should be charged with child endangerment, neglect, and abandonment. I really hate to judge other people's parenting because only they know what truly goes on with their children; however, in this particular case even if the kid was 'off the hook,' she should have sought alternatives before resorting to such an extreme act (i.e., sending the kid back to Russia permanently). Say the child had a diagnosable attachment disorder, she should have had him evaluated by a professional pediatric team (child psychologist, developmental pediatrician, neurologist, ASD specialists, child psychiatrist, allergist, etc, etc, etc). Then depending on his 'issues' the mother could have sought treatment options for her son. I'd say she skipped a few steps before placing the kid on a plane with a note saying she couldn't handle his problems. Seriously, as her legally adopted son, he is no different than a biological child in the eyes of the law. This woman should be charged with something. I have no idea what the sheriff's office is wating for!

 

[JerseyJanice]

^^^ The 'mother' should be charged with child endangerment, neglect, and abandonment. I really hate to judge other people's parenting because only they know what truly goes on with their children; however, in this particular case even if the kid was 'off the hook,' she should have sought alternatives before resorting to such an extreme act (i.e., sending the kid back to Russia permanently). Say the child had a diagnosable attachment disorder, she should have had him evaluated by a professional pediatric team (child psychologist, developmental pediatrician, neurologist, ASD specialists, child psychiatrist, allergist, etc, etc, etc). Then depending on his 'issues' the mother could have sought treatment options for her son. I'd say she skipped a few steps before placing the kid on a plane with a note saying she couldn't handle his problems. Seriously, as her legally adopted son, he is no different than a biological child in the eyes of the law. This woman should be charged with something. I have no idea what the sheriff's office is wating for!

I think it's like the balloon boy case when it first happened--officials may be saying that they don't know if a crime has been committed, but she will be charged eventually. It's obvious that she has broken the law by abandoning and endangering the child. The only thing that may not be so obvious is which agency has the jurisdiction to arrest and prosecute her.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

My first thought when I read about this was one of utter horror. It hasn't changed at all, except to maybe disgust.

I have to say, I was disturbed by some the comments on this thread that in some way seemed to be condoning this woman's actions because the boy was 'dangerous'.

So? You simply do not do that. When you adopt a child you pledge to love that child like you birthed him/her - you don't ship him off at the first sign of 'issues'.

If she was seriously concerned by his behaviour there were channels to go down, from what has recently been reported it doesn't appear she even made any effort. And the idea that she wanted to adopt again is truly terrifying - what if the new adopted child didn't measure up - was she planning on returning that one?

As for whether the boy actually had any severe issues as she claimed, I'll be reserving judgment. I would have been more surprised if a 7 yo child removed from his birth mother due to probable neglect, institutionalised for a year then taken to live in a foreign country with strangers who speak in a language they didn't understand didn't have issues.

Di x

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I do not condone what the mother did at all, but I wish they would replay that special I saw on 20/20 a couple yrs back that I mentioned earlier in this post (another poster reminder me it was on 20/20) about a young breathtakingly beautiful girl adopted from that area and the problems she had with RAD, etc. It was such a sad piece all the way around, I felt so horrible for the little girl bc the mother eventually gave her back, or I thought she had, but was reminded that she was adopted by someone else. I believe she had tried to return her to Russia. I would love to see how she has progressed up until now. She was an extremely disturbed RAD child and was a real threat to another child in the family and the family. It was so heartbreaking, but you do see some of what the mother was going thru. The little girl was actually telling the mother she loved her and was trying to get better, so disturbing and sad. But you realize some of these children are actually so frightening and capable of anything, very very sad all the way around.

 

[MusiqChic99]

My first thought when I read about this was one of utter horror. It hasn't changed at all, except to maybe disgust.

I have to say, I was disturbed by some the comments on this thread that in some way seemed to be condoning this woman's actions because the boy was 'dangerous'.

So? You simply do not do that. When you adopt a child you pledge to love that child like you birthed him/her - you don't ship him off at the first sign of 'issues'.

If she was seriously concerned by his behaviour there were channels to go down, from what has recently been reported it doesn't appear she even made any effort. And the idea that she wanted to adopt again is truly terrifying - what if the new adopted child didn't measure up - was she planning on returning that one?

As for whether the boy actually had any severe issues as she claimed, I'll be reserving judgment. I would have been more surprised if a 7 yo child removed from his birth mother due to probable neglect, institutionalised for a year then taken to live in a foreign country with strangers who speak in a language they didn't understand didn't have issues.

Di x

I was wondering if she sought help somewhere first. I would think she would talk to a doctor or pastor, SOMEONE who might be able to point her in the right direction if she was having issues with this boy.

 

[PearlySwan]

I do not condone what the mother did at all, but I wish they would replay that special I saw on 20/20 a couple yrs back that I mentioned earlier in this post (another poster reminder me it was on 20/20) about a young breathtakingly beautiful girl adopted from that area and the problems she had with RAD, etc. It was such a sad piece all the way around, I felt so horrible for the little girl bc the mother eventually gave her back, or I thought she had, but was reminded that she was adopted by someone else. I believe she had tried to return her to Russia. I would love to see how she has progressed up until now. She was an extremely disturbed RAD child and was a real threat to another child in the family and the family. It was so heartbreaking, but you do see some of what the mother was going thru. The little girl was actually telling the mother she loved her and was trying to get better, so disturbing and sad. But you realize some of these children are actually so frightening and capable of anything, very very sad all the way around.

^^^ I have a question what would that 20/20 couple have done if that child was their own biological daughter? According to this definition here: http://www.attachment.org/pages_what_is_rad.php RAD can affect any child who is exposed to the potential causes of RAD, not just those who are adopted. Where would that couple have placed their own biological daughter? In foster care? Shipped her off to a country where they had orphanages? I guess what I'm trying to say is that the children are the victims, not the adults. If the parents don't have the skills to cope with their 'defective' children (adopted or biological), then why not provide them with the interventions that would save them? Get the professionals involved and have them treat with the appropriate therapies.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Did you guys see this yet? Warning, though, I'm sitting here crying after reading it. It's heartbreaking.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/04/13/russia.adoption.returned/index.html?hpt=T2

That poor little boy sure doesn't sound like a violent psychopath. I wasn't able to have another child after my son and would have loved to adopt, but my husband was less than enthusiastic about the idea. What I wouldn't do to have a little boy like him to love and care for.

I did hear on one news report that many Russians have inquired about adopting him. I hope and pray he winds up being adopted by loving parents who deserve him.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

^^^ I have a question what would that 20/20 couple have done if that child was their own biological daughter? According to this definition here: http://www.attachment.org/pages_what_is_rad.php RAD can affect any child who is exposed to the potential causes of RAD, not just those who are adopted. Where would that couple have placed their own biological daughter? In foster care? Shipped her off to a country where they had orphanages? I guess what I'm trying to say is that the children are the victims, not the adults. If the parents don't have the skills to cope with their 'defective' children (adopted or biological), then why not provide them with the interventions that would save them? Get the professionals involved and have them treat with the appropriate therapies.

I agree that shipping this child off to Russia wasn't any different from shipping an American born child off. At this point he was as American, and as much this country's responsibility as my child, who was born in this country to an American citizen.

Having said that, while adoption does NOT cause RAD, and there are many RAD kids living in their birth families, it's important to note that barring really severe circumstances (e.g. a child undergoing huge ongoing medical trauma over an extended period of time, where the parents are unable to provide any kind of comfort or relief), RAD is a preventable disorder. That is to say, that if you raise a child from early infancy, bio or adopted, and do a decent job of meeting their needs, making sure they're fed and changed and held and loved, they won't end up with RAD.

 

[PearlySwan]

I agree that shipping this child off to Russia wasn't any different from shipping an American born child off. At this point he was as American, and as much this country's responsibility as my child, who was born in this country to an American citizen.

Having said that, while adoption does NOT cause RAD, and there are many RAD kids living in their birth families, it's important to note that barring really severe circumstances (e.g. a child undergoing huge ongoing medical trauma over an extended period of time, where the parents are unable to provide any kind of comfort or relief), RAD is a preventable disorder. That is to say, that if you raise a child from early infancy, bio or adopted, and do a decent job of meeting their needs, making sure they're fed and changed and held and loved, they won't end up with RAD.

^^^ Precisely. Here's the couple the poster I responded to was referring to:
www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=118513&provider=gnews

At least they had enough common sense to relinquish their daughter to a family that knew how to cope with their RAD child instead of shipping her back to Russia alone on a plane.

 

[SereneOne]

My first thought when I read about this was one of utter horror. It hasn't changed at all, except to maybe disgust.

I have to say, I was disturbed by some the comments on this thread that in some way seemed to be condoning this woman's actions because the boy was 'dangerous'.

So? You simply do not do that. When you adopt a child you pledge to love that child like you birthed him/her - you don't ship him off at the first sign of 'issues'.

If she was seriously concerned by his behaviour there were channels to go down, from what has recently been reported it doesn't appear she even made any effort. And the idea that she wanted to adopt again is truly terrifying - what if the new adopted child didn't measure up - was she planning on returning that one?

As for whether the boy actually had any severe issues as she claimed, I'll be reserving judgment. I would have been more surprised if a 7 yo child removed from his birth mother due to probable neglect, institutionalised for a year then taken to live in a foreign country with strangers who speak in a language they didn't understand didn't have issues.

Di x

I am absolutely horrified that you think one child should be allowed to endanger other members of the family, adopted or not. I have had cases where one child in the family was molesting the others and physically and mentally abusing the others. He or she was/is a birth child and in several cases had to be removed.

I don't condone what the woman did in any way. I think what she did was stupid and wrong and if she is telling the truth about the child threatening the family, I would say desperate. If one of my children was threatening and abusing the others, he or she would be removed. Would I do everything in my ability to help him or her and hope for reconciliation? In most cases, I would, but my first concern would be to protect the family members in danger.

There is more coming out about this story and I think we will all have a better picture when the sensationalism dies down. It is a bad situation for everyone involved, especially the children--the little boy abandoned and possibly the birth child of this woman, if what she says is true.

I hope the little boy is able to overcome the hardness that his first seven years have been and is adopted by a family that will love him dearly and he them. I hope this woman faces consequences for her decision and is not allowed to adopt again.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I am absolutely horrified that you think one child should be allowed to endanger other members of the family, adopted or not.

I didn't get this at all from the post that you quoted, but the rest of your post is great.

I am absolutely horrified that this woman abandoned a 7 year-old child and justified it by writing a letter that paints him as a violent psychopath in front of the entire world. It irks me to no end that this boy has no way of defending himself against her slanderous remarks.

 

[EMom]

I am absolutely horrified that you think one child should be allowed to endanger other members of the family, adopted or not. I have had cases where one child in the family was molesting the others and physically and mentally abusing the others. He or she was/is a birth child and in several cases had to be removed.

I don't condone what the woman did in any way. I think what she did was stupid and wrong and if she is telling the truth about the child threatening the family, I would say desperate. If one of my children was threatening and abusing the others, he or she would be removed. Would I do everything in my ability to help him or her and hope for reconciliation? In most cases, I would, but my first concern would be to protect the family members in danger.

There is more coming out about this story and I think we will all have a better picture when the sensationalism dies down. It is a bad situation for everyone involved, especially the children--the little boy abandoned and possibly the birth child of this woman,

I hope the little boy is able to overcome the hardness that his first seven years have been and is adopted by a family that will love him dearly and he them. I hope this woman faces consequences for her decision and is not allowed to adopt again.

See, that's the thing. More and more of us are wondering IF she is telling the truth in any way, shape, form or fashion. She got zero help for the child, took him for zero assessments, never got a professional opinion (unless you count the phone call she made to a psychologist, but I fear that was self-serving) even though several social service agencies, the adoption agency and the social worker were all available to her. I know that if I had a kid that was a true threat to my family, I'd be seeking help anywhere I could find it, yet she never made a peep.

And if I truly had a kid with RAD terrorizing my family, the LAST thing I'd be doing is hunting for an adoption agency so that I could run out and adopt another child from Eastern Europe ASAP. (While the first kid was still in the home, mind you.)

No, it just does not add up.

It was a stroke of brilliance to fly him off to Russia, though heartless. She gets to paint him as a murderer in the making and no one can refute it. Heck, who even laid eyes on the kid while he was in the US? There are no social workers, psychologists, doctors, etc. to come forward and say he was RAD or was not because she didn't take him to anyone. Hence, no paper trail. It's her word against his, and let's face it, his word is really whatever the Russian government is now saying. She knew they would say he was just fine when she sent him back, whether he was Damian or Richie Cunningham. Many Americans are predisposed to be skeptical about anything the Russians say, so even if the kid is normal and not RAD, how will we ever get to the truth now that she shipped him off to Russia? If she actually ABUSED him, how will we ever know? Plainly put, she got rid of the evidence.

Yes......If she had taken him to a professional or two in the US and been told, "He doesn't have RAD, he's just going through an adjustment period that is to be considered normal under the circumstances," then she couldn't have sold her victim status to the media and gone on her happy child-shopping way. Risking an accurate diagnosis (let alone treatment) did NOT seem to fit in with her plans.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

^^^ I have a question what would that 20/20 couple have done if that child was their own biological daughter? According to this definition here: http://www.attachment.org/pages_what_is_rad.php RAD can affect any child who is exposed to the potential causes of RAD, not just those who are adopted. Where would that couple have placed their own biological daughter? In foster care? Shipped her off to a country where they had orphanages? I guess what I'm trying to say is that the children are the victims, not the adults. If the parents don't have the skills to cope with their 'defective' children (adopted or biological), then why not provide them with the interventions that would save them? Get the professionals involved and have them treat with the appropriate therapies.

I don't condone how the mother reacted at all. It was really a very heartbreaking show, but at least you got to see what the mother went thru. It was very sad all the way around. But if u are in that situation, it's hard to know how u would respond, not by shipping the child off tho, that is not acceptable in any way. Some of these kids are really disturbing, killing animals, threatening to really seriously kill other living family members. These are children that really would not be in your own family bc they have led lives where they did not receive any real human contact or were extremely abused. Look at it like this, would you want Jeffrey Dahmer living in your house around your children? How would you react? I am not saying that was the case with this boy, I don't think he was anywhere near that, but I don't know all the details. I would get him the help he needed and have him institutionalized. The mother should have gone to the proper authorities and obviously in a way, it's a good thing she isn't his mother now.
Also, I would love to see how that little girl is doing now in the 20/20 show mentioned.

 

[lemondog]

There is a whole lot of conjecture out there and the only way it's going to clear up is if the woman herself will speak out. But since she won't, she will continue to be guilty of abandoning her son, in my eyes.

As I stated in an earlier post my best friend is a state attorney general and handles DCS caseloads. She is supposed to be briefed tomorrow and will tell me anything she is allowed to disclose. She has done a little bit of research on her own and so far cannot find any laws under which to prosecute the woman, but she feels positive that there will QUICKLY be a law put in place to ever keep this from happening again.